


The Reception

by KB9VCN



Category: El Hazard: The Magnificent World
Genre: Gen, Humor, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-03-31
Updated: 2002-03-31
Packaged: 2018-09-06 16:18:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8760214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KB9VCN/pseuds/KB9VCN
Summary: Written March 2002; humor/humor; about 3100 words.
This takes place immediately after the end of the second OVA series.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written March 2002; humor/humor; about 3100 words.
> 
> This takes place immediately after the end of the second OVA series.

Fujisawa laughed. "OK, OK! You caught us!"

Miz held his arm for support, laughing along with him as she panted from chasing him. "Did you take all those things I just said seriously? Oh, you're going to be so much fun to tease."

She reached up and straightened his collar. "Come along. We have to sit for a wedding portrait. And then our guests will be waiting for us."

Then Miz turned to Nanami in pretend-anger. "And I believe SOMEONE was hired at great expense to cater the reception?"

"EEP!" said Nanami. As Miz and Fujisawa walked away, once again arm in arm, Nanami ran for the reception room at top speed. Shayla and Makoto were left alone.

Shayla noticed that Makoto had caught his breath, but he still hadn't stood up straight. "Hey, you don't look so good. You OK?"

"Don't worry about it. It's— just been a long day, that's all." Makoto looked up and smiled at her. But the smile seemed forced. "I'd better get back. I'm supposed to start the party with a speech. See you there?"

"Yeah... sure." Shayla watched him walk away. Her inarticulate frustration slowly turned to concern.

—

Miz and Fujisawa both sat in a small room, posing under uncomfortably hot lights, pretending to look happy. Their portrait artist worked at an easel, not pretending to look happy.

The room was silent, except for the sound of pencil scratching on canvas.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

"Sir! Please stop staring at that bottle of wine and look forwards for me! Thank you!"

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

"Ma'am! Please stop staring at your wedding ring and look forwards for me! Thank you!"

"How long does this usually take?" Fujisawa growled from the corner of his mouth.

Miz answered quietly. "He only has to do a rough sketch of the wedding portrait tonight. He'll paint it in his own time."

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

"If Makoto weren't so preoccupied," Fujisawa grumbled, "I would have had him build us a camera."

—

Makoto raised his glass. "...and so, let us all wish them a long and happy life together. Cheers!"

A roomful of guests raised their glasses. Miz and Fujisawa linked their arms and drank. And the party started.

—

Miz smiled at Nanami. "Alright, dear, what am I supposed to do?"

"OK. Turn and face away from us, and throw the bouquet over your shoulder. The girl who catches it is the girl who gets married next."

Nanami sprinted back to the small group of female guests and palace workers that she had been able to coax out on the floor. "OK, get ready, everyone!"

Without turning, she spoke to Shayla, who was standing next to her. "You're going down, matchstick."

Shayla smirked. "In your dreams, box lunch girl."

The bouquet sailed through the air, high above the center of the group, and came down towards the back, into the hands of...

Fatora. She hadn't even raised her arms to catch it. She looked at the bouquet with a blank expression, and blinked a few times.

The entire room froze. The crickets in the nearby gardens were suddenly deafening loud.

Fujisawa rubbed his chin and mused to himself. "Well, when Alielle is of age..."

—

Londs and Dr. Schtalubaugh watched a small group of musicians set up their instruments.

"Why are wires attached to the instruments?" Londs asked. "And what are these large black boxes?"

"It was Makoto's idea," Schtalubaugh replied. "He called it 'electric amplification.' He said it was very popular with the youth of his world."

The musicians began playing, nervously at first, but with more gusto as they got used to the harsh sounds of their instruments.

"It's very loud, isn't it?" Londs shouted.

"Yes, I am very proud of him too," Schtalubaugh agreed.

"What? What isn't allowed?" Londs shouted.

—

Nanami was startled when the music started— along with everyone else in the room.

As she looked round to see what was going on, she just saw Makoto walk through the open doors and leave the room.

Then she watched Shayla make her way to the doors, apparently watching and following him.

_Oh no,_ Nanami thought. _Oh no you don't._

Nanami made one or two final adjustments to the food table, and gave it a quick look of approval. Then she started after both of them.

—

Miz squealed, ducked, and clapped her hands to her ears.

Fujisawa laughed. "Sounds like Makoto's been having a little fun after all."

Miz looked up, then relaxed, as she realized the party wasn't being attacked.

She smiled and pointed. "Oh, look. Alielle is the first one to dance. That's just like her."

Fujisawa gasped, stood up and shouted. "ALIELLE!! That's no way for a girl your age to be dancing! What will people think?"

Alielle only stopped long enough to stick out her tongue.

"Never gonna understand that girl," Fujisawa muttered.

—

Makoto's favorite place in the gardens was not far from the party.

As soon as Nanami reached the gardens, she saw Shayla in HER favorite place, behind a column, watching him.

And when she reached Shayla's side (which seemed to be her own usual place), she saw him.

Makoto sat on one of the ornate garden benches. He held one arm of the bench tightly, as if he were afraid of falling. He rested his head in his other hand, and dumbly stared at the ground.

She thought she had never seen him look so tired, or so sad.

She turned to Shayla, expecting to begin the usual argument. To her surprise, Shayla hung her head and spoke without moving. "You should be with him."

"Shayla?..."

"Look at him. He doesn't need a couple of idiots arguing over him now."

Shayla turned to face Nanami, and to Nanami's further surprise, Shayla looked almost as tired and sad as Makoto did.

"And he doesn't need a hotheaded punk blowing up in his face when he doesn't say what she wants to hear." Shayla smiled wanly. "He needs an old friend. Go."

Nanami stared back for a moment, then nodded and walked on.

Shayla put her hands over her face and rubbed her eyes. "But this doesn't mean I'm giving up. Ngh..."

When she dropped her hands, a more familiar scowl had returned to her face. She clenched her fists and stalked away, muttering to herself. "Somewhere in this dump, there's half a dozen bottles with my name on them..."

—

The Princess Rune Venus approached the happy couple. "May I join you for awhile?" she asked.

Miz sat up and bowed her head slightly. "Milady."

Rune held up her hand and smiled. "Rune Venus. Please. After all that you've both done for my kingdom."

She sat besides Miz. "Is this room to your liking?"

"Oh yes. It was very kind of you to host us. Especially after, um, I destroyed the chapel at the first ceremony..." Miz gulped.

Rune waved her hand again to dispel any concern. "That room needed a new roof anyway."

Then she frowned, narrowed one eye and rubbed her ears. "Myself, I can't say much for the music."

Fujisawa gulped in turn, and stopped tapping his foot.

"It's not exactly to my taste," Miz agreed, watching the dance floor, "but it seems to have caught on."

She smiled and pointed. "Oh, look. Your sister is dancing with Alielle... Oh my. Alielle is game for anything, isn't she..."

Rune gasped, stood up and shouted. "FATORA!! That's no way for a princess to be dancing! What will people think?"

Fatora and Alielle only stopped long enough to stick out their tongues.

"Never gonna understand that girl," Rune sighed.

—

"You!!"

Two hands slammed to the table, on both sides of the book that Afura held before her. Other guests further down the long table jumped in their chairs, and a small stack of well-cleaned plates rattled at Afura's side.

But Afura showed no sign of surprise. She sighed, carefully closed her book, and looked into the angry drunken face of her fellow defender of truth and justice. "Shayla? Can I help you?"

"Yer the one that needsh help! Readin' a dam' book at a party!"

"And what do you want me to do? Get drunk and pick fights?"

"Yeah! I mean, no! I mean..."

Afura glared at Shayla. Then she seemed to come to a decision. "I don't know what you WANT... but what you NEED is someone to show you how to hold your liquor."

She held an open hand over the table and closed her eyes. Her immaculate control of her power of the winds took up a bottle at one end of the table, sliding it down the table to her hand.

"Now yer talkin'!" Shayla shouted. "Lessee whatcher made of, bookworm." She pulled a chair up from another table, ignoring the guest who had been using it at the time.

With a small nod of thanks, Afura accepted two small glasses from her now-interested neighbors at the table. A few bystanders also interrupted their conversations to watch the proceedings.

Afura glanced at the label as she opened the bottle. "It's a good thing this is strong drink. Otherwise, it might take me awhile to catch up with you."

Shayla blinked. "Catch up? Whad'ya talkin' 'bout?"

Afura filled her glass to the brim, held it up, smiled a most un-Afura-like smile, and smoothly tossed it back in one gulp.

Then she did it again. And again. And again.

The small crowd now gathered round them ooh'ed and ah'ed, and spontaneously broke out in applause.

Drawing breath, Afura set her glass down and gave Shayla a feral grin. "Now. Shall we begin?"

Shayla gulped. "Oh boy."

—

"Um, darling," Miz asked, "I hate to say anything, but you're drinking much less than I expected. Do you not feel well?"

Fujisawa took his wife's hand. "I can drink later. You've waited for this day for all of your life. I want both of us to have happy memories of it."

Miz's eyes went all shiny. "Oh, darling!"

Fujisawa smiled to himself. _Finally got one right,_ he thought. _Maybe this romantic stuff isn't so hard, after all._

"Besides," he continued, "it looks like Shayla and Afura are drinking enough for all of us tonight."

Miz looked round to see the two facing off over a bottle that was now less than a third full. "Afura? Oh my. Poor Shayla."

"Poor Shayla? Are you joking?" Fujisawa asked.

Miz grinned. "Afura has an incredible constitution. You've seen how quickly her wounds heal after battle. And you've seen how much food she puts away, and she never gains an ounce.

"Afura rarely indulges, but when she does, she can drink ANYONE under the table. Shayla knows that. Really, why doesn't that girl ever learn?"

"Oh my," Fujisawa said. He had never given much thought to his wife's quiet teammate, but he felt a new-found respect for her.

—

"Does it always physically weigh on you like this?" Nanami asked.

Makoto raised his head high enough to look up at the moon.

"It usually isn't this bad. It comes and goes. And we've been so busy, it helped to take my mind off it...

"But when I saw our _sensei_ and Miz, finally together... and then Shayla tried to ask me... what I think she was trying to ask... and I could never say yes... and I think Shayla knows it..."

He paused. When he spoke again, it was not of Shayla.

"You know there's something between me and... her. You've heard me go on and on about it. You're... probably sick of hearing it.

"But it's like the combination of my powers, her design and... our feelings created a bridge... between us.

"And with her gone, sometimes it feels like... I'm trying to hold up a bridge by one end. And there's... nothing at the other end to take... the weight away."

He lowered his head again, breathed heavily and swallowed a couple of times.

"Nanami... could you help me... to my room? I am... very tired."

Nanami stood up. "You bet. Give me your arm. Oops, you aren't kidding, are you? OK, hon, here we go, nice and slow."

"Thanks, Nanami. You're a... real friend."

Nanami bit her lip. "Yeah, well, we're all just doing our best, right? OK, watch your step here."

—

Fujisawa nudged his wife's arm and gestured. Miz looked up to see Afura walking towards them, with a remarkable minimum of stumbling and weaving.

"Mizsh... Miz?" said Afura. "I wanted to aploli... apologize for making a scene at your party."

Miz smiled. "Actually, you may have saved it. We both know how much trouble Shayla can cause. I appreciate your keeping her, um, occupied. Is she alright?"

"Yep." Afura grinned. "She still has a pulse an' everything."

"And are you alright?"

"Are you kiddin'? I'm the freakin' wind priestess! Takes more than a little cough syrup to take the wind out of my sails. Heh. Heh heh. Ha! Ha ha! Ha ha ha!..."

Miz and Fujisawa glanced at each other, as Afura suddenly indulged in some unsettling manic laughter. But just as suddenly, she was apologetic again.

"Oh yeah. I also wanted to apoli... aploli... say sorry for making another scene at your party too." And she wandered away, towards the dance floor.

Fujisawa scratched his head. "What did she mean by that? She didn't do anything else that I saw..."

But then, he smiled and pointed. "Oh, look..."

Miz gasped, stood up and shouted. "AFURA!! That's no way for a priestess to be dancing! What will people think?"

Afura and Alielle only stopped long enough to stick out their tongues. Fatora was still dancing with them, but she was too surprised to look away from Afura.

"Never gonna understand that girl," Miz sighed.

—

Jinnai and Deva watched the lights of the palace through spyglasses, from the window of a nearby vacant building.

Jinnai's misinterpretation of events was typical. "Just look at that. Makoto Mizuhara, my eternal rival, mocks me with a party to celebrate my defeat. And my _sensei_ and those blasted priestesses are there, celebrating right along with him."

Crocodile tears suddenly flowed down his face. "And to think of my poor misguided sister, trapped in there with them. And her party food was always so good..."

Deva put a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Jinnai, it pains me to see you in such anguish. It is a beautiful night. Will you not walk with me, and speak of your future plans of conquest?"

"Oh, very well." Jinnai turned his back on both the palace and Deva, and began to walk away. "Yes, I have been thinking... Unfortunately, I haven't been able to reconstruct the Trigger of Destruction. So, we shall find another demon god to serve us. After all, you seem to find one every time you turn around..."

Deva looked in surprise at her raised arm, which Jinnai had failed to take. Then she smiled, a bit sadly, and set off after him. "Oh, Mr. Jinnai!" she softly said to herself.

—

The party was finally winding down. The musicians were packing up their instruments, still wary of the wires hanging from them. Many guests remained, but they were slowly walking to the doors as they bid each other good night.

Afura looked up from her book, a little hazily. She smiled as Alielle skipped past her, through the doors and down the hall, as full of energy as when the evening had just begun.

Fatora had been close behind, but she stopped in front of Afura. The usually brash girl seemed oddly bashful, even in awe of the priestess she had rarely spoken to before now. "Um... Afura? What are you going to do now?"

Afura reached towards the comatose form in the chair next to her. "Well, I guess I should take care of this..." She lifted Shayla up from the table by her collar.

Shayla drooled. "H'lo off'cer. Wush I goin' too fasht?"

Afura released Shayla's collar, and Shayla's head fell back to the table, none too gently.

Fatora swallowed heavily. "Um. After that. Would you, um, like to, um, come to my room and..." She leaned in and whispered the rest in Afura's ear.

Possibly for the first time in years, Afura giggled. "That's very flattering, dear. But I'm afraid I don't fly that way."

Then she drummed her fingers on her book, in thought. "But I should thank you for the dance... ah, I know. Here's something for you to try with the next one that says yes." She leaned over and whispered back in Fatora's ear.

Fatora's face went white. "Afura! Where do you learn of such things?"

Afura drummed her fingers on her book again, smiled and winked.

As Fatora absorbed her new knowledge, a cunning plan took form. She took off running and shouting. "Hey Alielle! Wait up! I wanna ask you something..."

Afura sighed. "Ah, reckless youth." She turned and grabbed Shayla's collar again. "Well, let's get you to bed, Sparky."

Shayla protested as Afura dragged her from the room. "I hate't wh'n you call me that. You jusht wait 'til I c'n move mah armsh an' legsh ag'n..."

—

Fujisawa sat in a chair by a window of his room. He was wearing the same tracksuit that he wore when he first came to El-Hazard.

He stretched and scratched himself, in a rather undignified way. "Ah... so much more comfortable," he said to himself.

Miz swept into the room. She looked at Fujisawa's wedding suit, in a rumpled pile on the bed, with bemused exasperation. Then she saw her husband in the clothing in which he had traveled so far, for so long. The clothing he wore when they had first met.

"Oh..." She stood beside him, at the window. "It's very late. Are you going somewhere?"

"Me? Nah, I'm staying right here."

She smiled. "I'm glad."

And then, other things happened.

—

As Nanami settled into her bed, she ran through her calculations again. It had been a good night for business. She had picked up some leads for several upcoming parties, as well.

But her final thought, before she fell asleep, was a thought that she had never truly meant when she had thought it before. She meant it now.

_I hope he finds her soon,_ she thought.

—

Makoto turned in his bed. His fingers brushed the key-staff where it stood, leaning against the headboard of his bed.

A little of the strain fell away from Makoto's face.

—

Lost in her own dreams, so far away, Ifurita smiled.


End file.
